A remake of the first game in the pre-eminent video game horror series, featuring a graphics overhaul, as well as several new gameplay features, environments, and unlockable modes that weren't included within the original version.

Overview

A screenshot taken from the original 1996 PS1 Resident Evil

Resident Evil is a remake of the original Resident Evil, which was released primarily for the Sony PlayStation in 1996. The game was rebuilt from the ground up to take advantage of the new technologies available on the GameCube at the time, featuring new and improved graphics, new gameplay elements, voice acting, script, in-game locations, and music. Shinji Mikami was quoted as stating that the remake is ''70% different'' than the original.

To account for the game's size and image quality, Resident Evil comes in 2 discs, with two thirds of the main game situated on the first disc, and the final third on the second.

A screenshot taken from the 2002 remake of the same corridor

While originally exclusive to the GameCube, Resident Evil was eventually ported to the Wii on June 23rd, 2009 as Resident Evil Archives: Resident Evil, which included the option to play with the Wii Remote and fitted the game onto one disc instead of across two.

In August 2014, Capcom announced an HD port of the Resident Evil GCN remake with a new control option for PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One and PC.

In October 2018, Capcom announced a Nintendo Switch version of the game for release sometime in 2019.

Gameplay

Overview & Controls

Jill Valentine doing battle against a Hunter.

Resident Evil plays much like every other Resident Evil game pre-Resident Evil 4, mixing in third-person combat, exploration, and puzzles. Though like most survival horror titles, Resident Evil limits the player character's capabilities beyond the norm and ammunition for their firearms is generally scarce, intended to force players to use their supplies wisely and to choose flight rather than fight when possible. There are three different difficulty modes available: Easy, Normal, and Hard, with each one featuring tougher enemies and less ammunition to be found than the last.

Utilising the notorious ''tank controls'', players move via a third person perspective throughout a number of pre-determined camera angles. Characters also cannot move and fire their weapons at the same time, and instead the character will 'perch' themselves to the ground when aiming. And while the camera angle perspective sometimes tends to purposely obfuscate the players view of monsters, characters will at least (by default) aim their weapon at the closest enemy when players draw their gun. What is new over the original Resident Evil is the ability to now do an 180 degree turn, which was first introduced in Resident Evil 3: Nemesis and has continued as a mainstay across the series since then.

While the game follows a linear pattern of major events, the player is allowed to explore most of the beginning mansion at will. Many of the puzzles and necessary key items required to move on can be solved/collected in any order.

The story is largely portrayed via in-game cutscenes, however there are also a number of Files (diaries, memos ect.) players can collect. These will often provide additional insight into the goings on across the overall narrative, but some are more vital as they will provide information pertaining to solving puzzles or maybe hinting as to where to go next.

Playable Characters

Chris Redfield

Like the original, Resident Evil features two different characters--Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine--to select from. Each offers up a differing take on the same narrative, though what separates them the most is the gameplay implications, as Jill Valentine's version of the game is significantly easier and more accessible than Chris's.

Jill has more inventory space to carry items; she can potentially find an additional weapon exclusive only to her story, being the grenade launcher; she has with her a lockpick that can open locked drawers; and many more such examples. However Chris is somewhat sturdier than Jill and can withstand more damage before succumbing to death, and he also has better accuracy with handguns giving players the increased chance to pop a zombie's head completely just with one shot.

Jill Valentine

Each character also has their own unique supporting character that they will often encounter and interact with during the game. Jill Valentine has with her fellow STARS Alpha team member Barry Burton, whereas Chris has the rookie medic of STARS Bravo team, Rebecca Chambers. Both Barry and Rebecca will sometimes have to help the player character from a perilous situation, though Barry will always be an NPC. During Chris' story, however, players may take control of Rebecca Chambers on two separate occasions to help save Chris from dying of poison, and to kill the mutated plant monster Plant 42.

Inventory

Chris Redfield's 6-slot inventory screen

Depending on which character the player chooses, they will either have six (Chris) or eight (Jill) inventory slots in total. Each type of item requires only one slot, however. Each character also one additional slot strictly to house a unique item; Chris possesses a lighter, and Jill has a lockpick. Besides the character's inventory, there also exist a number of item boxes where players can store unwanted items. Item boxes are often located within save rooms (though not always) and items will persist throughout all item boxes across the game.

All items and weapons can be examined by the player, allowing them to get a closer look and turn the object around. This can sometimes change the properties of certain key items, such as unlocking/opening a key item to reveal another inside, or may at least change the title to reflect the item's true identity.

Self-Defense Items

One notable feature exclusive to the remake is the addition of self-defense items. Given a separate inventory slot, there are three different self-defense items that players may find and then equip. Once one is equipped, from that point when a player is grabbed by an enemy, the player can then press the firing button which will then show the character using the self-defense item to escape the grab, canceling out any possible damage inflicted upon the character. All self-defense items are one use only, however.

There are three different self-defense items, one of which can be found by both characters, and one unique item for each:

Daggers - Can be found during both Chris and Jill's and will inflict moderate damage unto an enemy. There's a small chance that when the enemy has been shot, the dagger will fall onto the ground and can be collected once again by the player.

Flashbang - Chris' exclusive self-defense item, Chris will shove the flashbang into the attacking enemy's mouth and, once shot by the player, will explode killing the creature completely.

Taser - Jill's exclusive self-defense item, Jill will pull out the taser and then zap the enemy doing a high amount of damage. It will kill a zombie outright, though sturdier enemies such as hunters can sometimes manage to survive the current.

Health & Herbs/First Aid Sprays

A character's health can be seen via the inventory menu, with an Electrocardiograph Machine showing a character's status. The different statuses are:

Fine - The character is in good health.

Caution - The character is roughly at half health.

Danger - The character is approaching death.

Poison - The character is poisoned and their health will slowly deplete.

Besides the EKG, players may also note the character's stance. Whence the characters starts holding onto their hip, that is a sign that their health is at least in the Caution state, or may even be poisoned.

Carrying the tradition set by the original Resident Evil, characters use a small variety of herbs to heal themselves and cure poisons. First Aid Sprays are also available, though they only have the singular purpose of healing the character fully. There exist three herb types, all of which can be combined in some way for different degrees of healing:

Green Herb - On its own will restore 25% of health.

Blue Herb - On its own will cure poison, though will not restore any health.

Red Herb - On its own does nothing.

Green + Green Herb - Mixed will heal the character by roughly 50% of health.

Green + Green + Green Herb - Mixed will heal the character completely, though not of any poisons.

Green + Blue Herb - Mixed will heal the character 25% of health and cure any poison.

Green + Green + Blue Herb - Mixed will heal the character 50% of health and cure any poison.

Green + Red Herb - Mixed will heal the character completely, though not of any poisons.

Saving

Like every other main Resident Evil game pre-Resident Evil 4, Resident Evil requires that players find one of the many typewriters located throughout the environments to save, and must also have at least one ink ribbon item in their character's inventory.

Story

Main Characters

One of the two main playable characters, Chris is the S.T.A.R.S. Alpha team point-man, and is an exceptionally skilled marksman having won trophies for his skills with handguns. Having also served in the US Air Force before his time with S.T.A.R.S., Chris has some experience with combat. However, none of any such prior encounters could have prepared him for the nightmare he is about to endure.

The second of two main playable characters, Jill is the S.T.A.R.S. Alpha team's machinery expert. Couple her expertise handling such tools with her experience as apart of the US Army's Delta Force training program (specialising in bomb disposal) despite only being 23 years old, Jill has managed to gather an already impressive array of skills.

One of the oldest and most experienced S.T.A.R.S. members, Barry is apart of Alpha team and is also the unit's weapons specialist. A close friend to Chris Redfield serving in the same Air Force unit, Barry is the man who managed to persuade him to join S.T.A.R.S. once he left the air force. As a family man with a wife and two daughters, despite Barry's expertise, he is actually a very friendly and trusting individual.

The youngest member of S.T.A.R.S. at only 18, Rebecca is the team's medic assigned to Bravo team. Down-trodden after the majority of her comrades have died, she is now more than ever determined to aid the remaining S.T.A.R.S. members and use her medical abilities to help as much as she can. Outside of such horrific situations, Rebecca is a chirpy and highly motivated individual who is both more mature and capable than her age and rather petite size may suggest.

Alpha team Captain and the founder of the entire S.T.A.R.S. unit, Wesker is a well respected officer of the law and is looked upon with admiration by his fellow S.T.A.R.S. members, such as Chris Redfield in particular.

Character Differences

Between the two playable main characters of Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine, the story largely follows the same path. The primary difference between the two is which characters are featured and what their role is. For Chris Redfield's story, he works alongside Rebecca Chambers amidst their attempts to survive the Mansion, whereas Jill Valentine has Barry Burton as her supporting character. However, both Rebecca and Barry do not appear in the other character's campaigns; Barry will at least still show up in the opening cutscene during Chris's story, but then disappears completely and isn't encountered again. And Rebecca Chambers is omitted from Jill Valentine's story completely.

Whichever of the two main characters the player selects, the other is then also absent from the majority of the game until the very end. The canon telling of the game's story is made up of varying factors of both interpretations, however, including the involvement of both Rebecca Chambers and Barry Burton.

However, once they reach the forest, the S.T.A.R.S. members are ambushed by what look to be undead dogs, who tear Joseph Frost apart. The remaining members manage to take shelter in a nearby mansion, though the mansion proves to be just as dangerous as the outside forest.

As they explore throughout the mansion, the team uncover more and more grisly remains of what's left of the Bravo team. Team medic Rebecca Chambers is the only one who is found to be in good health. As S.T.A.R.S. travel throughout more of the mansion, and the nearby residence building, they soon learn that this mansion is owned by one Ozwell E. Spencer, the head of the pharmaceutical company Umbrella. Deep below the mansion courtyard is an Umbrella laboratory which was used to create the T-Virus. The T-Virus in turn is what lead to the mansion being infested with an all manner of creatures including zombies, which were once Umbrella researchers, after an outbreak.

Rebecca & Chris doing battle against Tyrant

As the team investigate further, it is also revealed that S.T.A.R.S. captain Albert Wesker was in fact initially working for Umbrella as a scientist. Though he has now decided to move on from Umbrella to continue his own nefarious ambitions, and only brought in his own S.T.A.R.S. team so as to collect combat data; he was also blackmailing Barry Burton by way of his family so as to lead the other S.T.A.R.S. members astray, though Barry will eventually break free of Wesker's hold and save his compatriots. Wesker himself is seemingly killed by his own creation the T-002 Tyrant--a hulking monster with a large, imposing claw--after he releases it to kill the remaining S.T.A.R.S. members. The team are then able to successfully kill the creature, place a bomb in the laboratory, and escape the resulting explosion via helicopter piloted by Brad Vickers, who had abandoned the team during the beginning in the forest once the undead dogs shown up.

Alternate Endings

Not only depending on which main character the player chooses, the endings of the game can also be determined by specific choices made throughout the game based on which characters manage to survive.

During Chris's story once the player returns to the Mansion after exploring the Residential building, Rebecca is forced into an encounter with a Hunter and screams for help; if the player can't reach her quick enough, she will die. If she survives, then Rebecca will able to set the bomb to destroy the mansion, triggering the resurgence of Tyrant on the Helipad. It'll slowly advance towards Rebecca and if the player isn't able to pull his attention away from her, it'll kill her instantly. Jill Valentine can also be left behind (and potentially killed for certain if Rebecca is still alive by that point) if the player isn't able to find the three MO discs required to unlock the door to her cell, and vice versa when playing as Jill herself.

During Jill's story amidst the Lisa Trevor boss battle, Barry Burton pulls his gun on Jill with what is insinuated to be the intent to kill her. During his hesitation, Jill swiftly pulls the gun from him and directs it back at him. However as Lisa Trevor closes in, Barry pleads that Jill hands him his gun. From here the player has the choice of giving it to him or not; if not, Barry will be killed. If so, then he will fight alongside Jill against Lisa. Though Barry may still be killed during this fight if Lisa gets close enough to knock him off into the chasm below.

If Barry survives the encounter, which sets in the motion the outcome of Wesker escaping and setting the Mansion to self-destruct, this triggers the ambush by Tyrant on the Helipad. It'll then slowly advance towards Barry and if the player isn't able to pull his attention from him, it'll kill Barry instantly.

Overall there are technically eight endings in total dependant on which combination of characters managed to survive the Mansion Incident, which also affects other such outcomes including whether or not the Mansion is destroyed.

Jill survives; Albert Wesker is killed; the Spencer Mansion is left as it is along with Tyrant.

The canon ending of Resident Evil is again made up of varying factors across both stories, including the survival of Chris, Jill, Barry, and Rebecca, the destruction of the Mansion, Wesker's supposed 'death, and the hatred Wesker grows for Chris.

Weapons

Survival Knife

Considered to be a last resort tactic, the knife does very little damage and has dangerously small reach. Because of its low effectiveness, it is usually best for the player to just run or attempt to avoid the enemy rather than combat it. Both Chris and Jill have their own different style of knife, though the differences are purely cosmetic.

Beretta 92F

Jill Valentine's starting handgun, which Chris Redfield also eventually procures as his pistol as he lost it in the forest. The beretta is the weapon of choice to handle lesser enemies such as zombies and Cerberus dogs. When playing as Chris Redfield, the player has the chance to kill an enemy just with one shot, courtesy of Chris's skills in marksmanship.

Colt Python

Returning from the original is the Python Magnum Revolver. Simply massive in size, the Python is the third most powerful weapon in the game behind the Rocket Launcher and the Defense Gun. It can kill all lesser enemies just with one shot and is a reliable contender against boss battles. Though as one may expect, ammunition is terribly scarce.

Colt Anaconda

Barry Burton's own custom magnum revolver, the Anaconda is pretty much the exact same weapon in both power and appearance as the Python. It can also only be attained during Jill Valentine's story, and even then only if the player decides against giving Barry his gun back during the Lisa Trevor boss battle. However, the magnum ammo players find throughout the mansion isn't compatible with the Anaconda and as such becomes useless once all of its six rounds are used up.

Self-Defense Gun

A small two-shot pistol, though with only one round left after the other was used by an Umbrella researcher to commit suicide, the Defense Gun is an unsuspectingly powerful weapon that packs about as much power as three shots from a Colt Python. However, because no further ammunition can be found, it is generally suited to being reserved for a boss battle more so than a regular enemy.

Pump-Action Shotgun

About as reliable as ever, the remake's shotgun has a strong kick and plenty of power, making it a fine choice for just about any enemy across the game. It can kill a zombie outright with just a single shot when aimed at the head, and it can even keep Hunters at bay as well. When facing against certain boss battles, like Plant 42, the character will be shown to aim down the barrel whereas they usually aim from the hip.

Acquiring the shotgun can differ slightly between Chris and Jill. Because collecting the shotgun will instigate the ceiling trap, Chris therefore requires the Broken Shotgun item to trade in its place. However Jill may potentially be able to collect it without the need for the Broken Shotgun.

Should Jill collect the shotgun, Barry will then arrive to save her from the trap. Though only if the player didn't meet Barry prior when finding the corpse of Forest Speyer, otherwise Jill will then require the Broken Shotgun item as well.

Assault Shotgun

Richard Aiken's weapon of choice, the Assault Shotgun can only be attained if players manage to give him the serum to help remedy his poison infection in time. Richard doesn't give players his gun himself, however, and will instead be left as a 'parting gift' after he is killed either by Neptune (Chris's story) or Yawn (Jill's story). Once acquired, it then makes the original shotgun practically obsolete, as it can hold more ammunition and is slightly more powerful.

Grenade Launcher

Once again only available in Jill Valentine's story, the Grenade Launcher is a powerful and diverse weapon that has access to a small variety of grenade types. There are the regular explosive grenade rounds, which do a sizeable amount of damage against just about anything; flame rounds, which while powerful, are especially effective against such creatures as Plant 42; and acid, which has a decent degree of splash and continuous damage.

Flamethrower

Only find in Chris's campaign, the flamethrowers acts as both a weapon and a puzzle item, as the player requires it so as to trigger the unlocking of certain doors in the underground caverns. When used as a weapon, it's decent at staving off Hunters as the continuous spray will cause the Hunter to rapidly flinch. Fuel quickly depletes, however, and no more can be found. A second flamethrower is also conveniently left outside the area where the player faces against the giant spider queen, Black Tiger. Once the player moves on from the underground sections, they cannot take the flamethrower with them as it is required to unlock the way out.

Rocket Launcher

An old four-shot rocket launcher that is only available during the final encounter against the T-002 Tyrant. The Tyrant will always deflect the first shot, though the second will kill it instantaneously.

Enemies

Zombies

The staple of the older Resident Evil games, zombies are of course as prominent as ever in the Resident Evil remake. Slow and sluggish in movement, but dangerous up close, zombies are durable enough against gunfire that they can prove to be extremely dangerous even just in small numbers. When encountered on their own, however, zombies can be dispatched relatively easy so long as the player has enough ammunition to spare. As per usual, zombies are best dealt with the pistol or sometimes the shotgun, which can kill a zombie with a single shot if the player aims directly at its head once close enough, or can at least reduce the zombie to a literal crawl by destroying its legs.

Zombies attack by grabbing and biting the player when close, but will also puke out acid instead if they can't quite reach the player. Some zombies will be encountered lying on the ground, seemingly pretending to be dead, and will grab at a character's leg should the player get close enough. However, the leg bite does little damage and will always result in the character killing the zombie with a single stomp or kick.

When encountered on stairs zombies are much less of a threat, as they won't attempt to bite the player and will simply rely on their acid vomit making them significantly easier to rush past.

Crimson Heads

One such infamous feature of Resident Evil are Crimson Heads. A significantly stronger, faster, and more aggressive variation of the regular zombies, the Crimson Head transformation will occur after a short while once a regular zombie has been ''killed''. The only way to halt the transformation is for players to burn the corpse afterwards (or kill a zombie by destroying the head) using a lighter and some gas fluid, both of which must be in the player's inventory for use. Otherwise after an allotted time, once returning to an area the now Crimson Head zombie will quickly spring into action and will forever persist in that area until it has been killed.

While Crimson Heads will place priority in hunting the player character down, they are known to also slash their way past any other regular zombies that gets in their way amidst their search.

Cerberus Dogs

Alongside regular zombies, some sort of iteration surrounding infected dogs have persisted across nearly every Resident Evil game to date. Starting at the beginning, so to speak, the Cerberus Dogs of Resident Evil are infected Doberman breeds, purposely engineered to be a form of B.O.W. Cerberus dogs retain the same agility and tenacity as a regular dog, though with a massive increase in aggressiveness, brutality, and stamina.

Like zombies, Cerberus dogs are best left for lesser weaponry like the pistols and shotguns. Running past is always an option as well, as both Chris and Jill are just ever so slightly faster than the canines. However their attacks can sometimes cover just enough distance to close the gap and catch the player character.

Web Spinners

Giant, hairy spiders, the Web Spinners are a tenacious foe across Resident Evil, though they primarily appear only briefly within the Residential building. They can crawl along walls like any other spider, and will often try to charge forward and bite players when given the opportunity. However, their greatest weapon is their poison spit, which they will routinely spray; it has a fairly long reach of attack and has a high chance of poisoning the player, though the base damage it inflicts isn't quite as alarming. Before they fire their spit, they can first be heard to be readying it within their body.

Web Spinners have surprisingly tough hides and are most susceptible to the Grenade Launcher - specifically when equipped with flame rounds. They will also often strafe once they've been shot and attempt to counter the player as such. If a Web Spinner is killed with its sack intact, a large multitude of baby spiders will seep out of the corpse and attack the player. Though their damage is even less than that of a crow and should the player leave the area, they will return to find them all gone.

Hunters

First appearing once players return to the Mansion after investigating the Residential building, Hunters will then replace the common zombies of the game and will be encountered throughout in most areas where the zombies originally populated. Hunters are extremely dangerous and one of the most antagonising enemies throughout the franchise, let alone Resident Evil. They attack using their sharp claws and their most common source of attack is to leap through the air and slash the player. Though the player can still manage to shoot the Hunter mid-jump if they react fast enough.

Should the character's health be in the Caution state or lower, however, the Hunter's dive will be replaced with a swift cleave which will decapitate the character killing them instantly. Though they will at least let out a distinctive shriek first to notify players they are preparing such an attack. Hunters take one, sometimes two, shots from the Colt Python, which makes for the most suitable weapon. Otherwise the grenade launcher, and even the shotgun, can do the job if there's enough distance between the Hunter and the player. However Hunters are almost always encountered in groups of at least two.

Chimera

Encountered only within the secret underground laboratory, Chimeras are wretched creatures made up of both human and fly DNA. Like Hunters, these too were artificially created by Umbrella themselves, though they apparently proved to be unreliable and not as effective as the Hunter B.O.W. They primarily function like a cross between Web Spinners and Hunters; Chimera's can scuttle across flat surfaces, and will usually try to slash the player from above, but will also land into the floor and give chase. From this stage, Chimera's may possibly leap onto the character's back and slice them from there.

They can be relatively easy to avoid, however--especially if they've following whilst on the ceiling--and typically take around 2-3 shotgun rounds should direct combat come to pass. Though much like the Hunters, Chimera are rarely encountered alone and they will sometimes attempt to swarm the player as a pairing by attacking from two different directions.

Adders

Highly aggressive poisonous snakes, Adders can be found throughout the Mansion garden and will drop from the trees landing in front of the player. The damage they do is minimal, though there's a high chance they can poison the player and there's often a large number of them at that. Running past them is the best option, however due to their size they can be difficult to distinguish. If the player decides on combat they will at least die by but a single handgun shot.

Wasps

Found in the Residential building, a sizeable wasp cocoon has formed within. Though the wasps themselves do very little damage and die with at most 2 shots from a handgun, they will continually respawn until the player can find the item required to put an end to the wasp cocoon.

Boss Battles

Crimson Head Prototype

The first zombie that underwent the Crimson Head transformation, Umbrella scientists managed to restrain it and locked it underground in a tomb. Once released by the player, it soon awakens and begins chase just as the gate is closed behind to stop the player from escaping. The Prototype functions much like an ordinary Crimson Head zombie; it'll run at the player and attempt to swipe with their claws, however it will always use its right claw, allowing the player to avoid its attack if they run to the left. It will continue this routine until it dies, which only requires around 4-5 shotgun shells on the Normal difficulty.

Yawn Part I

A monstrously huge snake that resides within an attic, Yawn will surface once the player enters in search of a crest. This battle is completely voluntary, however, as the player can attempt to just collect the crest and escape. Because of the snake's size, this can sometimes prove difficult. If the player is bitten there's a high that they'll be poisoned. If the player's poisoned, the character will pass out once they escape the room.

As Jill, she will pass out and fall to the ground, with Barry arriving soon after who will take her to the first floor save room. This is all done instantaneously amidst a black screen, however, and Jill will wake up to find Barry gone. As Chris, he too will pass out just as he leaves the area and will be greeted by Rebecca Chambers. However in this occurrence, the player takes control of Rebecca and must collect the serum from the first floor medicinal save room for Chris within 7 minutes, otherwise he will die and the game will be over. Fighting Yawn can be tricky because of its size and its stamina; it will generally require around 10 shotgun shots or 4-5 grenade launcher rounds on the Normal difficulty to force it to flee.

Also to note is during Jill's playthrough, and if the player manages to save Richard Aiken from his poison infection, once the player goes to fight Yawn Richard will join soon after equipped with his custom Assault Shotgun. From there he will assist the player if they choose to attack Yawn; after so much damage, Yawn will recede away, but will strike again once Jill and Richard lower their guard and will swallow Richard whole. If the player instead chooses to ignore Yawn and collect the crest and leave, Richard will scream after no doubt suffering the same fate. If players fight alongside Richard until his inevitable death, they will then be able to collect his assault shotgun - the cutscene of Richard pushing Jill out of the way depicts him dropping his shotgun at the last second. However should players abandon Richard, then the shotgun is presumably gobbled up by Yawn alongside Richard and cannot be collected

Yawn Part II

Located in the library, Yawn will resurface after the player while they're looking for a specific book. Yawn functions exactly like it did in the previous battle and will slither throughout the environment in its attempts to bite and poison the player. Unlike the first encounter, this battle is mandatory as finally killing Yawn is the only way to trigger it knocking the bookcase and revealing a book the player needs.

If the player is poisoned this time they are left to carry on without any assist. Though by this point blue herbs to cure the poison are now accessible and can be found throughout the mansion. Any of the damage inflicted on Yawn previously will have had no effect and Yawn now requires a significant amount more punishment to beat.

Lisa Trevor Part I

Lisa Trevor is a new character and boss specifically created for the remake. She is a young teen girl, but one that underwent extensive testing and experimentation with a number of viruses turning her into a hunchbacked monster. Lisa was actually the precursor for the Nemesis project seen in Resident Evil 3, though unlike Nemesis, Lisa cannot be controlled.

The first time Lisa is encountered is when the player enters the nearby cabin in the woods and is ambushed by Lisa knocking the player character out. Once the character comes to, they quickly take notice of Lisa Trevor as she slowly limps toward the player. Lisa is invincible and can only be temporarily warded for a couple of seconds; this can help the player escape the cabin, which at this point in time is the only option the player has. Lisa's attacks can do a great deal of damage at that and can kill both Chris or Jill in just 3 hits on the Normal difficulty.

Lisa Trevor Part II

Encountered within the Caves/Mines underneath the Mansion, Lisa Trevor functions as she did before and cannot be killed. Once again the player is to avoid all encounters with Lisa, though this time the player must also attempt to pull a couple of levers necessary to continue on. Like before, the player can attack Lisa enough that she may very briefly become incapacitated to allow the player past. The area is filled with a series of narrow pathways, however, which can make trying to run past Lisa head on practically impossible. Though there are multiple passageways that offer opportunities for the player to skirt Lisa and work their way around her.

Lisa Trevor Part III

The final encounter with Lisa, Chris/Jill will arrive in a cavern and will be greeted by Albert Wesker as Chris and Barry Burton as Jill. As Chris, Wesker greets Chris and asks him to ''get a piece of the action''. During this battle, Wesker will attempt to help Chris in warding Lisa off.

There are two ways to beat this battle. Because the area is made of a small square platform surrounded on its left and right side by what looks like a endless pit, the player can potentially do enough damage to force Lisa off the edge, though this requires a fair amount of damage inflicted unto Lisa. Otherwise the player can attempt to manoeuvre around the area pushing the stones off of the surface; once all four have been pushed off, this will open the coffin in the middle that contains the remains of Lisa's mother. The sight of her mother will drive Lisa to temporarily express the one small piece of humanity she has left as she cries in vain at her mother and leaps off into the abyss with a shriek.

With Jill this battle plays out the same, though the opening will offer the player a choice to hand Barry his custom magnum after handily taking it off him after he threateningly directed it at Jill. If the player chooses Yes, then Barry will fight alongside Jill; if No, then Lisa will knock Barry off killing him, forcing Jill to fight alone but also letting her keep Barry's fully loaded magnum revolver.

When fighting against Lisa she uses the same array of attacks. Though the tactic for knocking her off works both ways as she too can not only knock the player off, but also their AI ally. If Barry is knocked off he is then declared dead for the ending. However, if Wesker is knocked off he will still appear during the end as per usual. Wesker surviving the drop is never brought up nor explained later in the game.

Neptune

An even more aggressive breed of shark, Neptune is a great white infected with the T-Virus and is the most unconventional boss battle in the game as the player doesn't actually fight it. Once entering the aqua tank, the player will be enveloped in knee high water which will slow their character's movement speed. The player is to quickly run across the walkway into the control room before Neptune leaps out and attacks; the music will quickly rise in tempo and urgency to let the player know how close Neptune is to attacking. It's possible to avoid Neptune, but if it is in reach of the player it will quickly pull the player into the water killing them instantly.

Once the player has reached the control room, and has climbed down the ladder, they'll now be underwater, faced by Neptune on the opposite side of the window. Neptune will then attempt to break the glass, forcing the player to configure the settings in the control room to close the shutters over the window before Neptune smashes through the glass. Once that's done, and the water has been drained, the player will leave the room leading into the ground floor of the tank. Along the way the player will encounter two lesser infected sharks which are barely clinging to life within the oxygen. The player may choose to mercy kill them, though it's not necessary.

Eventually the player will reach Neptune, who is surfaced within a small pool of shallow water. It is completely docile for the time being, but once the player tries to grab a key they require on a platform past Neptune, it will spring into action and attempt to attack the player. Neptune cannot move, but the player is trapped on the small raised platform. Pushing the circuit box into the water and turning on the power will then kill Neptune completely, allowing the player to move past safely.

As Jill the scenario plays out as such, though when playing as Chris, and if Richard was cured of the snake poison inflicted by Yawn, Chris will encounter Richard as he first enters the tank. Richard will then quickly push Chris out of the way -- saving him from Neptune's attack, but dying in his place. Once the player has drained the tank, they can collect Richard's custom shotgun on the tank's ground floor.

Plant 42

A huge and incredibly hostile plant that has been infused with the T-Virus. Dubbed Plant 42 for being located within ''Point 42'', the carnivorous plant has entrenched itself within the Residential Building and uses its vines to attack its prey throughout the building via small holes in the floors, walls and ceiling. If the player nears any of these holes, the plant's vine will attack and attempt to strangle the player until they waggle it off by mashing on the buttons. Once the body of the Plant has been located, this initiates the boss battle. Large in size, reaching the ceiling at around 12ft in height, it primarily attacks by using its vines to squirt small droplets of acid, though it will also attempt to attack the player by swiping them with its vines as well.

The best strategy is for the player to climb up the stairs reaching what remains of the second floor and shoot at the bulb. After enough damage, it will recede only to quickly sprout back out. As Jill, once this occurs Barry will arrive conveniently equipped with a flamethrower and will lay waste to the creature killing it.

As Chris, the player may need to continue fighting from this stage until it's killed. However, if the player managed to save Richard, then as soon as Chris enters the room he will quickly be grabbed by the creature, just as Rebecca arrives on the scene. Chris will then hand her a file to help in creating the ''V-Jolt," a type of poison that will kill the plant. Now controlling Rebecca, the player is to head to the nearby chemistry room and make the concoction. With the V-Jolt made, the player must then find the roots within the building and administer the V-Jolt, which will weaken Plant 42 as before, releasing Chris. Though this won't have killed it completely and requires the player to unload a few more shotgun shells to put an end to Plant 42.

Black Tiger

A gigantic tarantula, even by the giant spider standards of the game, the appropriately coined Black Tiger is colored in shades of black and grey. It functions like its smaller kin of spiders, though its poison spit is more ferocious and will actually shoot three splashes at once with a greater range. The environment is relatively small, which allows the player to run around the creature to keep out of its poison distance. The shotgun, grenade launcher and magnum work as expected, though Black Tiger is especially weak to flame rounds shot from the grenade launcher. As Chris, the player will have a flamethrower available which is also effective. Alongside Black Tiger are two regular Web Spinners as well that have the same attributes as previously encountered Web Spinners

Once killed, a multitude of small spiders will begin to seep out of its corpse, though leaving the area and returning will remove them from the area.

Tyrant T-002 Part I

After Wesker's betrayal is revealed, he (or Barry accidentally) will release Tyrant, where it will proceed to slowly walk towards the player. The battle itself is relatively simple as it will only walk towards the player, though it won't flinch against any gunfire. Keeping Tyrant at a safe distance, while circling the large lab equipment, the player should be able to down the monster without taking any damage so long as they have enough ammo. Tyrant is unsurprisingly thick skinned and requires a fair amount of ammunition; the magnum alone will still take around 8 rounds to put down on the Normal difficulty.

Tyrant T-002 Part II

The final battle of the game, this second encounter with Tyrant is only triggered should the player have Barry or Rebecca alive, otherwise this battle will be skipped altogether and Brad Vickers will arrive to pick up the remaining characters.

Otherwise it will erupt from the ground on the heliport and its gameplay design will have now changed drastically. No longer content in steadily walking towards the player, Tyrant will now routinely break into a quick sprint and swipe with its massive claw at the player dealing a great deal of damage. With Barry or Rebecca at their side, the player at least has some backup. Though they too can be killed by Tyrant and must also reload when necessary. After Tyrant has received enough damage, or the timer that is ticking down has reached around 30 seconds, Brad Vickers will drop down a rocket launcher the player must use to kill Tyrant.

Equipped with only four shots, the Tyrant will manage to deflect the first, though the second will score a direct hit destroying the Tyrant completely.

Unlockables

Resident Evil contains just about all of the original version's suite of unlockables and some of its own original inclusions.

Costumes

Getting the Happy ending (with all three characters surviving the Mansion Incident) will gift a key that the player begins with in their inventory once they load their completed save. The key can then be used to unlock a secret room--the large painting in the first room to the right from the hall--which has two costumes per character.

Should players change their costume as Chris, Rebecca Chambers will be shown wearing a cowgirl outfit instead of her STARS uniform. This same outfit makes an appearance as an unlockable costume for Rebecca in Resident Evil Zero also.

Weapons

Samurai Edge

A S.T.A.R.S. custom pistol, the Samurai Edge has infinite ammo and a much faster rate of fire. Because of its higher fire rate, the Samurai Edge can prove useful not only against regular zombies, but even larger enemies like Hunters and certain bosses given its infinite quantity of ammunition. The Samurai Edge is unlocked by completing the game once under five hours on the Normal or Hard difficulty setting, and can be found in the character's inventory when loading a cleared game save.

Rocket Launcher

Unlocked by completing the game on Normal or Hard under 3 hours. Found in the player's inventory upon loading their completed save file, the rocket launcher can kill everything (besides the Tyrant on the helipad) in one shot.

One Dangerous Zombie Mode

Unlocked by completing the game on any difficulty in any time, this mode is then weaved into any following playthroughs. The game will play out as usual, however the zombified Forest Speyer will sporadically appear in certain areas and will give chase. Forest will function like an ordinary zombie and will try to grab and bite the player, though he runs at the speed of a Crimson Head. The player cannot attack Forest in any way, either, as he has a bandoleer of grenades strapped around his torso and any attacks will cause him to explode -- killing the player instantly regardless of the distance.

Because Forest is travelling around the mansion and has already reanimated, he will of course not be found in the outside balcony as per usual. Forest will also only be encountered within the Spencer Mansion and will not follow into the other environments across the game. There is no way to turn off this mode and the player must start a new save to play without the stalking of Speyer.

Invisible Enemy Mode

Unlocked by completing on any difficulty in any time, the Invisible Enemy Mode is as self-explanatory as they get -- all of the enemies within the game, bosses included, are invisible to the player. There is no longer any auto aim at that, though they will make their typical sound effects once the player is in the location. The player's unlockable weapons/costumes will not carry over into this mode.

Real Survivor Mode

Unlocked by completing on any difficulty in any time, Real Survivor mode was initially a prototype mode for the original Resident Evil. Its notary difference is that the item boxes no longer share items and any items stored in one particular box will forever stay exclusively in that one box. Auto aim is also disabled and the gameplay modifiers are set within the Hard mode settings.

HD Remastered Port

Announced on August 5th, 2014 was an HD port version of the Resident Evil remake for PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and PC. Its pre-rendered backgrounds are to be upscaled (720p on PS3 and Xbox 360; 1080p on PS4 and Xbox One), though certain objects and even whole areas were redone completely in polygons.

Character models are redone in HD, and it also allows players to select between 4:3 or 16:9 aspect ratio. However when playing in 16:9 the screen will crop the image and then pan up/down depending on the direction the character moves.

While the game still offers the classic tank control scheme, more modernized analogue controls are also be available as an alternative -- to which the player can switch between in real-time. A Very Easy mode was included as well to further increase its accessibility for a more modern audience. The Remastered port was released in both physical and digital formats, however its physical format is restricted to its PS3 and 360 versions, and only in Japan.

Online Leaderboards are available in this version, as is a new Gallery mode that lets players re-watch the game's pre-rendered cutscenes.

The port was rather successful and proved to be Capcom's top selling digital release of all time, selling over a million copies. This success resulted in the team moving on to have Resident Evil Zero undergo a similar such remastering.

Contagion Campaign

A form of viral marketing for the HD Remaster port, the Contagion Campaign allowed Resident Evil fans to ''spread the infection'' by signing up via email, facebook, or ResidentEvil.net. Upon doing so would add to the overall infection percentage shown on the site; sharing the user's status on such social media sites as facebook or twitter would also help further the infection.

Capcom later announced that should the infection reach 100%, they would include Chris and Jill's BSAA outfits from Resident Evil 5 in the game, though Chris's his Lost in Nightmares outfit as opposed to his default RE5 attire.

On September 26th, the ''infection'' officially reached 100%, assuring that the new costumes were to appear in the HD Remastered port. The costumes are unlocked at the outset and can be selected within the character select menu, which is also now how the other unlockable costumes of the game are to be selected as well.

Development

To better connect this game with narrative advancements of later games, Resident Evil spliced in some additional story details that were absent from the original. One of the more noticeable ones is the addition of George and Lisa Trevor. George designed the Arklay Mansion which ultimately ended up being his grave and his daughter Lisa was the subject of Umbrella's hideous experiments and will be encountered by the player at various times through the game. These additions were scrapped from the original game but have been added in to give the Resident Evil mythos some more depth. Other such additions include the mention of William Birkin and Alexia Ashford.

There were also several new locations created for the remake such as the Graveyard behind the secret door in the main hall and Lisa's Cabin in the Courtyard. These extra locations gave the game new puzzles that the player would find a new challenge even if they played and completed the original. Even puzzles that were ported over from the original were remixed, as were enemy placements and the general design of the mansion was reworked in places so as to give the mansion the feeling of nostalgia, yet with plenty of surprises for veterans of the series.